The Life of Edward Elric
by Riku Watashi
Summary: Parental!Roy. Somewhat AU (clearly). Roy finds a young boy on his doorstep. There are so many genres that fit this that I'm only saying family, sorry. Aiming for 100 reviews.
1. Chapter 1

The life of Edward Elric

Chapter One

_ "Daddy? Where's Mommy?" "She's... You can't talk to her right now..." "Why?" "Because she's not here anymore..." "What do you mean?" "... I don't know..." _

_ The man sighed. "What am I gonna do with you?" "Huh?" "C'mon, Ed, we're going for a walk."_

The hour was 11:00 in the evening. Roy Mustang sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was late and he should be getting to bed, but he was working on paperwork that he had brought home with him so that he could finish some of it. Of course, the paperwork would never actually be finished, just somewhat lessened.

Useless complaints were common, and it annoyed him no end.

He had only recently moved to his current military position, at the age of 27, and was already accustomed to the painful haul of paperwork.

He was focusing on anything but the paperwork, his exhausted mind looking for any escape from the taxing job at hand.

A faint thump at the back door alerted him, and he jumped at the excuse to stop and do something else.

Setting the papers in his hands down on the table in front of him, he made his way around the low table and to the door, where he looked out. There was nothing there that could have made that sound, and he sighed, knowing full well what joy awaited him back at the table.

As he went to release the curtain from his grip, though, something caught his flighty gaze and he pulled them back once more to take a look downwards. A young boy, looking about 3 years old lay on his door step. His eyelids were shut, presumably meaning that he was asleep, though Roy wasn't sure if that was what that was indicative of. He had blonde hair that was slightly long for a boy, though not unheard of.

There was one particularly strange thing about him, though, and that was his right arm.

Automail.

What had a young child gone through that had merited that? Though he had never had experience with it himself, he had heard that the surgery to get it was painful.

After staring dumbly for several minutes, Roy's sleepy brain processed what was going on, and he swung the door open, immediately dropping down beside the child. He put his pointed and middle fingers to the child's wrist to ensure that he had a pulse, and upon confirmation of this fact, picked him up, shaking him slightly to rouse him.

"Umn..." The child sleepily opened his golden eyes and gazed up at him.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Roy asked. "Are you okay? Where's your parents?"

The boy sat up and looked around. "Where'm I? Where's Dad?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"What's going on?"

"Okay, calm down. Do you know your phone number?"

"Um.. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He crossed his arms and looked away.

"C'mon, tell me. I'm a..." He bit his lip. "I'm a police guy, kind of..." Pretty much true. "Plus, you're on my house's door step." "555-2883" "Okay. Thank you. I'm gonna go inside and call your parents to come get you. You can come with...what's your name?" "Edward..." he mumbled. He stood to go in and glanced back to see the boy hesitantly following.

"The number you called is no longer in service. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

He turned to look at the boy who was now standing beside him, expectantly.

"Hey, Edward, are you sure that's your number?" He nodded. "Okay, say it again, so I can make sure that I got it right." "555-2883. Is something wrong?" "I don't know..." 555-2883 He pushed the buttons on the phone, making sure that he put them in correctly.

"The number you called is no longer in service. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

" ...do either of your parents have any other phone number?" He shook his head vigorously. "Nope." " ...this isn't ringing through." "Whatd'ya mean?" "Its... This number isn't working. What am I doing...?" "Are you gonna call th'police? Am I in trouble?!" He looked up at him, his eyes scared and pleading. "No, you're not." He patted him on the head, but stared at the wall, lost in thought. "I think I am going to call the police, probably... But you're not in trouble. I'm just making sure you don't get hurt. Got it?" " Hn.. " He thumped his head against Roy's leg. "Tell you what: you can sit on the couch while I make some calls, okay?" "Fine.. " "Oh, what's your last name, kid?" " ...Elric."

The number he found himself dialing wasn't the police, but Lieutenant Hawkeye. "Hello?" her groggy voice came through the phone. Despite the fact that she sounded tired, she still sounded strict like she normally did, being part of the military. "A kid showed up on my doorstep. He said he isn't sure how he got here. I tried calling his parents, but the phone wouldn't ring through, and it said the line had been disconnected. What do I do?"

She sighed. "Roy, call the police.." His sigh echoed through the phone. "That's the thing: I was wondering if maybe you could just see about getting a hold of his parents without calling them. The kid seemed pretty shaken up about it."

Her turn to sigh. Again. "Alright. I'll see what I can do. What's his name?" "Ah.. Edward Elric."

Silence.

"Hello? Hawkeye? You there?"

"Roy... There was just something on the news about... That boy's father commited suicide right after Edward's mother died."

"Crap..."

" You have to let the police know that you've got him."

"Fine, I'll do that. Thanks, Riza."

"Mm"

Sleeping. He was sleeping on the couch. In the few minutes that Roy had left the room to call Hawkeye, the boy had dozed off on Roy's sofa. He sighed and eat down next to him, stuffing his hair. This kid was going through hell...

He dialed the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello, police?..."

Knock knock

Roy started. "Huhn. ..?"

Another knock resounded from the front door. "Ow.. My back..." he mumbled, groggily pushing himself off of the couch, being careful not to disturb the sleeping boy. What time is it, anyway...? He glanced up at the clock. Midnight. Of course.

He opened the door to see two people dressed in familiar blue uniforms. "Hey. We're here about the child." Roy nodded, running his fingers through his disheveled hair in a fruitless effort to neaten it. "Of course. Come in." He held the door open for them, closing it once they went through. "He's right over here," he said, leading them to the couch where Edward was still asleep. He exhaustedly took a seat beside him. "He showed up on my doorstep a bit ago." A nod. "Right. We're gonna have to take him into the orphanage as a foster child since he has no family." "That's it?" "Yeah." He felt something clinging to his arm and looked down to see Edward grabbing his arm, looking up at him, wide-eyed. "Don't. Please ," he whispered. "Hm?" " Please don't let them take me, " he whimpered, "You're a police, right? You can make 'em stop, right?" Roy bit his lip and looked up. "Don't take him." " But-" "Don't." "What do you expect us to do?" one asked exasperatedly. "I don't know, but you aren't taking him to the orphanage." "Sir, he needs a parent, and he can't be without a guardian of some sort, as you should know," the other explained. "Fine, then I'll take him!" he blurted. "But.. Sir you have to fill out lots of paperwork for that and-" "I want the paperwork on my desk at work in the morning, and that's the end of it. No ifs, ands, or buts." "We'll have to take him into custody until it's officially done." Roy looked down at his soon to be son. "Go with 'em." " Huh?! Bu-" "Shh," he cut him off, "I'm coming back for you tomorrow. Just go, 'kay?" He pouted, but nodded. "I'll be there tomorrow, " he repeated.

He watched as they walked out of the house, not taking his eyes off of them until they left. He turned off the lights and lay down on the couch that he had just been sitting on. He had made his desicion. It might be difficult, but it was a good desicion... right?

Edward pressed his face against the window of the car, staring out as they left. _He has no family..._ What did that mean?_ I had Mommy and Daddy...right? What happened to them? What's goin' on? Is that guy gonna replace my Daddy? Where's my old one?_

"What's goin' on?! Why are you putting me in here?! I din't do anything wrong!" He was gently pushed into a cell. "Calm down, kid. We're just holding you here to make sure nothing happens to you." "No! Nothings gonna happen! Lemme go!" he whined. He flopped down on the seat groggily, starting to cry, and he quickly drifted into sleep.

**Edward Elric 's phone number is 555- CUTE because that's what li'l Ed is.**

**Thank you for reading this first chapter of the Life of Edward Elric! Don't forget to click the review button when you go! I really appreciate the feedback, and I'm also trying to aim for 100 reviews on this story.**

**Also**

**I seriously appreciate that you're reading my story. Thanks!**

**-Riku**


	2. Chapter 2: Rain, Work, and Car Seats

Chapter Two

Roy opened his eyes. It was pitch black, save for the small amount of light slipping through the cracks in the shutters. _What time is it? _He slowly realized that he was laying on the couch. He turned and eat ups hissing in pain as his foot not the low table in front of the couch. He switched on the lamp and looked up at the clock. 6:30. _What happened last night? _It was slightly earlier than normal, but he decided that he would get up anyway. If he went back to sleep, he wouldn't be able to get up again at a decent time. He changed into his work clothes, and after eating breakfast, went outside.

Rain was pouring from the sky. The ground was set and slick from the water.

Roy hated rain. It was terrible, annoying, and made his flames go out. In short, it made him feel entirely useless. He went out to his car. He needed to get to work, despite the fact that he loathed the weather conditions.

Last night... Had he really just done that?

He was now going to have a whole other person to take care of. It had been a completely rash and poorly thought out desicion, but it was the one he had made. Could be even do this?

He pulled up outside Central. He needed help. Who could be ask for advice? Hughes. Hughes had a child, right? Sure, she was a girl, but his advice would probably still be useful... probably.

When he got to his desk, there was a stack of papers there that he had requested. Despite the fact that they were definitely important, he would probably have to wait and fill them out at lunch break, since he had lots of other paperwork to do. He picked up the stack and started to slide them into a desk drawer.

A soft 'click' across the room caused him to look up. "Ah, Lieutenant Hawkeye. You're early." "No, you're just not late for once, Sir, " she replied smoothly. He snorted, but in a somewhat dignified Colonel-Mustang sort of way. "Trying to get out of some of your paperwork?" she asked, pointing at the papers that he was slipping into a drawer. "Hmm? Oh, no. I just had some other non-work-related papers I was supposed to fill out, but I was setting them aside 'til later." She walked up and took them from him as he sat down. "Adoption papers?" He sighed. "It's a long story." "Well, I have a lot of time," she replied. "Well, I have a lot of paperwork," he countered. "Explain, and I'll start on the paperwork so you can fill these out," she said, waving the adoption papers. "Deal."

He completely explained the entire situation and happenings of last night, saying everything, including his brash actions. She looked thoughtful. "Well?" he said. "Poor kid," she finally said after some deliberation. "What? That's it?" She shrugged. "What about me? Any advice?" "Good luck," she said, without even sparing him a glance. He scoffed. "I suppose you _wouldn't _know anything since you've never had to put up with children," he muttered in mock-spite. "Actually," she smiled, "I have." _Like the one right next to me.._

He slid the completed paperwork into his desk drawer, and set to work on some of his other paperwork. At lunch break, he was going to try to turn in the papers so he could get Edward. I'm order to do that, he decided that he should probably eat his lunch before then, while simultaneously doing his work so that his break would be completely free.

Hawkeye had been extremely helpful with picking up his slack, for which he was extremely grateful. _Well... Back to work, I guess.. _He glanced up at the clock. 9:45. He still had a couple of hours. "Would you like some coffee?" Riza asked. "Yeah.. I guess so.. Thanks." To be honest , he was doing a terrible job of focusing on his work.

There was a knock on his door. He looked up. "Come in." A man about his height with darker hair and glasses opened the door.

"Hughes! What are you-" "Hey Roy! Look, I have more pictures of my daughter Elysia! Wanna see?" " Uh-" "Great!" he cut him off before he could object. "Wait! Hughes, there was something I wanted to ask you about, " Roy said, surprised that he got a chance to speak. "Oh. What was it?" "Um... " Roy propped his elbows on the desk and folded his hands. "I wanted to ask if you had any advice on being a parent." Hughes paused thoughtfully. "Parenting advice? Hmm... Well... You have to make sure to devote enough time to your child, and let them know that you care about them, you have to tell them that you love them a lot, you have to be able to tell them no, but sometimes it's really hard, like Elysia is soo cute that-"

"Hughes. Focus."

"Right. You need to be strict, but no too strict. Like, you can't spoil 'em, but you can't be so hard on them that they can't handle it. Oh, and you have to make rules, and make it very clear what those rules are. That's really important so that they aren't doing things that they shouldn't be doing, and they can't feel like you're suddenly make up a bunch of rules to anger them or not let them do anything. Give'em freedom, but not _too _ much. Parenting is a balance." "Hmm..." Roy thought about it for a bit. "Pretty profound for someone who's only had one child." Hughes shrugged. "Well, you learn pretty quick. That is.. until they become adolescents," Hughes shuddered. "Hey Roy, remember when we were teenagers?" Roy pinched the bridge of his nose exasperatedly. "Hughes, stop." "Heh.. All kidding aside, though, why did you want to know?" Roy sighed. Because I'm adopting someone." Hughes paused. "Oh, I get it. Single dad, got it all handled, make you more popular with the ladies?" "No.." Roy shot him a death glare. "Alright, alright, I was joking. But seriously, though, why?" Roy took a deep breath and explained.

"Oh, I see," Hughes saud, which was ironic since he was the one wearing glasses. Riza walked in and set a cup of coffee on Roy's desk. "Roy, do your work," she said in a stern, but not unkind voice. "Yes, Ma'am," he consented.

11:00. Soon... Roy was tense and anxious. Was it all going to work out okay? He had no way of knowing. He should probably eat his lunch soon. At 11:30 he was off, so now would be the best time to do it, probably.

He got up and jogged out to his car. His lunch bag was in his car. He had brought his own homemade lunch, because he didn't know how early he would be able to get his lunch from the Mess.

That was another thing. Children who's parents were in the military... didn't always have good lives. While Amestris wasn't currently in the middle of a war, who could tell when one might happen? That could be horrible. Then again, if they were in the middle of war, who wouldn't be affected? Still, he should be able to be there for his son, something that made him wonder how good this decision was.

"Yay". Sandwiches. Was he actually capable of making anything other than sandwiches? He racked his brain to think of the last time that he had actually made a meal that wasn't a quick breakfast or a sandwich. Could be actually support another person? Let alone a person who needed constant care..

The minutes were ticking by in a painfully slow manner. 11:18. 12 more minutes, and then...

He looked back down at the paperwork he was supposed to be doing. _Roy Mustang._

_Roy Mustang. _

_Roy Mustang._

He signed his name of several different pieces of paper which all required his signature. He signed his name on a few more papers before he got to a thin stack of papers that he was required to read.

"Roy?" "Hmm?" He looked up from the papers in his hand. Riza was standing in front of his desk. "Umm..." She pointed at the wall clock. 1 1:32. "Oh! Thank you, I hadn't noticed." He snatched his overcoat and the adoption papers. _Here goes nothing... _"Wish me luck..."

"Roy Mustang. My name is Roy Mustang." The lady straightened her glasses, and looked at the papers in her hands. "What did you say you were here for, again?" He sighed. "I'm here to adopt a boy who was brought in yesterday. His name is Edward Elric.. " She 'hmm'ed for about the nineteenth time, which made him want to strangle her, but he kept his calm. "Okay," she finally said, "I'll be right back. I have to talk to a few people." Roy sighed and took a seat. He pulled out his pocket watch, and flipped the lid open, revealing the clock face. 11:45. Hell. This was hell. No-one was being remotely helpful, and by the time anything got done, it may as well be midnight, from the way things were looking.

"Mr. Mustang?lifted his head quickly. There was a young woman standing there, and to her right, Edward. He got to his feet. "I need you to sign this paper for me over here.." she said, nervously. He nodded and came to the desk where she stood. He glanced over the paper, before taking a pen and scrawling on it.

_Roy Mustang._

She nodded. "One moment, please," she said, sorting through a few things one of which was the paper he just signed. A moment more, and she nodded again. "Congratulations, Mr. Mustang. Edward is yours." Roy couldn't stop the smile from creeping on to his face as he looked down at his new son. "Hello, Edward," Roy said.

Both beaming, they walked out of the building, hand in hand.

Edward clung to his arm. "Hey, I told you I'd come back for you, didn't I?" "Mm-hmm," the boy hummed. "This is my car," Roy said, leading the boy to a black car." It was then that Roy realised a mistake he had made. "Hey, Ed?" Two golden eyes looked up at him. "How old are you?" "4!" he shouted. "Crap.." Roy muttered, but not loud enough for Edward to hear. He stopped. "Is somethin' wrong?" Edward said, looking up at him cutely. "Ah.. I don't... I don't have a car seat for you. Like a booster seat, I mean." Ed blinked, completely confused. "You can't legally ride in this car without a car seat.."

Central wasn't that far. Maybe he could just walk back? But Edward was little and had short legs, so he would probably get tired out pretty quickly..

Roy kneeled down on the ground. "Get on," he said. He pulled Edward onto his back and stood up. "Don't let of of me, okay?" "Uh-huh. Wow! It's tall up here! You're super huge!" "Uh... Okay...?" "Look! There's a bird!" "Ed?" "What?" _Wow, automail is heavy..._ "Do you understand what adoption is?" "Huh?" "I adopted you. Do you know what that means?" "Uhhhhhhhhh .. Umm... Iduhno.. " "It means I'm your Dad now." "What?! _You're _my Daddy?!" "Yep," Roy said. "Wow! Hi Dad! Cool! You're really tall, Daddy!" Roy chuckled slightly.

And then the rain started up again.

** Hello again! Thanks for reading chapter 2 of The Life of Edward Elric!**

**Yay! Parenting advice that hopefully didn't sound ENTIRELY faked up for a random Fanfic...**

**I dunno, I know nothing about parenting since I won't actually even be an adult for another few (million) years. :P**

**Heh..**

** And yes, I am entirely aware of the fact that that is not exactly how adoption works but... It was for the purpose of my story, so... Who knows, maybe Roy can completely avoid all of the other stuff because he's a Colonel... Eh? Maybe not...?**

**Well.. whatever**

**Anyway, please review. I'm really trying to get up to 100 reviews. I don't care how good they are (they can't be worse than my writing XP). And guess what? You don't even have to be logged in or have an account to review! You can just review it anyway, so... Just remember to hit that review button on the way out!**

**A special thank you to Patsy Koala for reviewing the first chapter. I really appreciate that!**

**And thank you to all of the 34 people who made 34 views possible. It's be great if we could get some "re"s with the "view"s, but I guess I can take what I can get. **

**Seriously people, REVIEW! It's fuel for my writing! You can all thank Patsy Koala for making this chapter possible, because reviews are t****he breakfast of champions!**

**:P**

**Anyway, I know you'd probably rather read more story than Authors Note, so I'll leave you be now, but PLEASE: Be kind, please review!**

**(I found that on an old library tape XP)**

**Thank you! **

**Riku out!**

**(I'm trying out final goodbye things like that. Any suggestions, lemme know. In a review)**


	3. Chapter 3: Enter Havoc

**Chapter 3!**

**Please enjoy!**

"Aww!" Hughes exclaimed. "He's so cute."

Roy had run into Maes Hughes on his way into Central. "Hi!" Ed shouted, "He's my Daddy!" "Cool!" Maes exclaimed. He turned to Roy. "So who else knows?" Roy paused, thinking. "I told Riza." "Ah. Anyone else?" "Uh.. No, I don't think so." Ed yanked a strand of Roy's hair. "C'mon! Let's go this way!" Hughes laughed. "That's so adorable," he said, and patted Ed's head. "Alright, already. Let's go before Lieutenant Hawkeye kills me," Roy said. "Who's L..Luu..L.. Hawkeye?" "Pfft. Lieutenant Hawkeye is someone I work with. C'mon, let's go see her." "N'Kay!"

Roy walked to his desk. When he got inside his office, Hawkeye was sitting there waiting for him. When she noticed him, she gasped and stood up. "Is this Edward?" she asked, taking the soaking wet boy off of Roy's back. "Hi Lu... Lui..." "Lieutenant Hawkeye," Roy said. "Yeah!" Ed said. "Hello, Edward," Hawkeye said, "but you can call me Riza." "Hi Miss Riza!" She smiled.

"You two look like a couple of drowned rats," Riza said, observing them further. "Yeah.. It rained!" Edward yawned. She set him down on the floor. "Lemme go get you a towel."

"Miss Riza is nice!" Ed shouted. "Yeah..." Roy said. "Is something wrong?" Ed said, stepping right in front of Roy. "Ah.. No." "Okay! What's your job like?!" Roy sighed, having momentarily forgotten about work. "I have to do lots of paperwork..." Roy said. "Its pretty boring.." Riza walked back in, a towel in her hands. "Edward," she called. He turned. "C'mon." She waved him over. He looked up at Roy, then walked over to Hawkeye. She grabbed him in the towel, enveloping him in fuzziness. He grinned at how soft and tickly it was, and she smiled as she rubbed his hair dry, then left him wrapped in the towel. He ran across the room and jumped onto the couch. "Cool!" he said, bending back at the knees and hanging off of the couch. Roy jogged over and pulled him back upright. "Don't do that, you'll fall off and hurt yourself." Ed pouted slightly, but then sat there, repeatedly bouncing up and down. "This is cool!" Roy chuckled and shook his head, sitting back down at his desk.

Snoring. Edward was snoring. A few minutes after sitting down on the couch, Ed had fallen asleep and was now snoring. To be honest, it wasn't very audible, so it wasn't really a nuisance, but it was still bizarre now fast this child could fall asleep. He looked fairly cute: laying on the couch, his hair ruffled from when Riza dried it, the fuzzy towel wrapped tightly around him; his small hand gripping it, and a happy and peaceful look on his face.

Honestly, he wished he could be sleeping right now. But he had work to do.

He was intending to celebrate Ed's adoption with a party of some sort. Maybe that evening? Or would Ed be too tired for that? Eh.. Maybe he should wait the weekend when he was off of work for that. Yeah...waiting was probably his best bet...

"Dad? Are you bored?" Roy looked up, surprised that Edward was awake. "Me?" Roy said. _Duh, Roy, who else is his Dad? _"No, I'm not bored." Yes, he was bored, but he wasn't about to say that and set a terrible example for Edward already. "Okay, maybe a little, but I've got to do my job, anyway. "Oh.. Ok. I'm booooooredddddd..." "Sorry," Roy said, looking back down at his papers. "I'm gonna go... wander around.." Edward said. "Okay. Be careful and don't be bothering anyone who's trying to do their job." "Uh -huh," Ed said.

"Hey, what are doing here?" A man with blond hair and A cigarette hanging out of his mouth leaned over the little blond boy. "I'm here with my Daddy! He works here!" "Oh, really? Who's your Daddy?" "Ah... Uh... " Ed put his hand to his face thoughtfully. "Roy!" "Hu-Wha?!" Havoc's has dropped, causing his cigarette to fall out. "Wh.. Who's your Mommy?!" "Hmm.. " Ed shrugged. Havoc looked horrified, then relieved. "I get it. This is some kind of joke." Ed cocked his head. "C'mon, let's go see your Dad."

"Yes, Havoc? What brings you here?" Roy said, looking up from his stacks of paperwork. "Who is this?" Havoc asked, shoving Ed in front of him. "His name is Edward." "Hi Dad!" Ed waved. "Is this some sort of joke?" Havoc asked. "Noo..." Roy said. "What? How long have you not told me about this?" "Uh..it just-" "Who did you marry?!" "Um.. No one... What? Is this some sort of trick question..?" "Roy! That's horrible!" "Uh.. Wha- No! He's adopted, idiot!" "Oohhhhhh.. Ookkkkay." Roy slapped his forehead hard. "Huh?" Ed said, completely oblivious. "Nothing, Ed. Havoc here is just an _idiot._" "Hey! You can't blame me!" Ed giggled. Havoc knelt down and patted Ed on the head.

"You tired?" Roy looked at the boy sitting on his couch. His eyelids were drooping and he took long blinks, staring sleepily at nothing. "Huh..?" Ed turned and looked at him, rubbing one eye. "Are you tired?" Ed blinked once before shaking his head. Roy raised an eyebrow and tried to stifle a smile he felt coming. "You aren't?" he said, suspiciously. "Noo..." he mumbled sleepily. "Okay, if you're sure.. I only have one hour left before I get to go, so we'll go home in a bit, anyway." "N'kay.." He yawned. Roy smirked slightly and looked back down.

"Hey, ready to go?" Roy said, nudging a sleeping boy. "Nuh..?" "We're gonna go now, okay?" "Kay..." Edward mumbled, groggy. Roy knelt down next to the couch. "Get on my back," he said. Edward sleepily moved to do as he was told, and nuzzled his face into Roy's shoulder, dozing off again.

Riza noticed him as he walked into the hallway. "Good luck." He nodded. "Do you think you're gonna need any help or anything?" "Ah.. No. Not for now. I think I've got it handled." She nodded in apprehension. "Just call it you need anything." "Will do." And he left to go home. "Crap.." he muttered as he left the building. "I left my car there when I picked up Ed..."

Roy smacked himself in the face when he realized that he actually had no place for Edward to sleep. He later him in his own bed, pulling up the covers and went to sleep on the couch for the second time that week.

**So?! How did you like it? I think three chapters is the farthest I've actually ever gotten into a story. If I make it to 5, I'll be shocked and pleased. I definitely intend to write lots of chapters, so hopefully it'll work out...**

**Please remember to hit the review button when you go.**

**Remember, I'm trying to get 100 reviews, and you don't even have to have an account here to review.**

**Pleeeease review! Also, if you notice any big typos, feel free to let me know in a review. It'd be really helpful. **

**Also, thanks to Pi pi m for reviewing my story. I appreciate it, and I'm glad you're liking this.**

**Sayonara!**


	4. Chapter 4: Thoughts

**Hello everyone! It's time for... Chappy 4! But.. This isn't it exactly.**

**This is just sort of an in-between thing.**

**But worry not, for Chappy 4 will be here soon enough.**

**In the meantime, enjoy this bit of thought provoking sadness.**

Dark.

It was all dark. Edward stared up at the ceiling (or what he assumed was the ceiling), though all he could see was darkness.

Was Mommy still sick?

No, wait...

_Daddy, please don't go.. _

He pulled the covers up tighter, curling his fist around them, his knuckles turning white.

_Where's Mommy?_

What happened? It was so scary...

_Reaching... Reaching as far as he could, trying desperately to bring him back, though he knew he wouldn't come. _

_Watching, as he walked away,_

_as he became a silhouette,_

_as his silhouette slowly faded into the distance_

_ "Dad! No! I'm sorry! Please come back!" _

He whimpered slightly, though he knew no-one was there to hear him or comfort him.

Where..?

He slowly remembered where he was.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Scared... He was so scared..

He couldn't.. He couldn't ask Roy..

Would be be mad..?

He wanted so badly for someone to tell him it was all okay.

To tell him it was safe.

He should be stronger than that.

After all, he wasn't a baby anymore.

He ran his hand along the firm, cold metal of his automail.

He silently wished that someone would come. That someone would pat him in the head and tell him that it was gonna be okay.

But no-one did.

No-one came..

At least, if no-one was gonna help, he could at least ask for something that wasn't stupid and made him a baby.

He was stronger than that. He didn't need anything.

But.. He decided he wasn't sure where the bathroom was, and that he was going to ask Mr. Roy.

**Ok, this last line sounds weird, admittedly, but it makes sense once the next chappy comes. And yes, I am going to continue to say Chappy.**

**Yay! 3 reviews! Only 97 more to go!**

**Please remember to review, and also, as an added bonus, whoever reviews next will have a character named after them, though if you've got a strange name, then I'm going to make it not directly your name.**

**Actually, scratch that, the next 2 people to review get someone named after them.**

**Thank you Pi pi m, for your continued support.**

**Also, do you guys like short chapters, but really often, or longer chappys, but you have to wait up to a week between them?**

**Should I make an update schedule?**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Hello!** thanks for all the reviews! also, I'm having a parental!Royed story contest, deadline: June 22! Pi pi m, Pipi is named after you! Thanks for your continued support!**

Chapter Five?

_Poke Poke. Jab! _"Roy?" _Poke. _"Ugh... Five more minutes..." "Royy... Wake up! I gotta go to the bathroom! Royyy!" "Uhn..Wha..?" Roy lazily opened his eyes. The only thing visible was darkness. He was laying on his couch at home. There was something clinging to his arm. "Roy! Get! UP!" He almost jumped out of his skin, then realized what was going on. " ...Edward? What are you doing up?" "I NEED TO USE THE BATHROOM!" he screamed. "Hey! Don't shout!.." Roy moaned. He sat up, his back aching from having slept in a bad position. "But I hafta go!" he whined. Roy sighed and scooped him up in his arms, delivering him to the restroom. He sighed. "Use the toilet.." Edward slammed the door in his face, evoking another exasperated sigh from the tired Colonel. He went back to the living room to take a look at the time, switching on a light so he could see. 1:30. Roy sighed, and went back to check on Edward. "Done yet?" Roy yawned. "Hang on a minute.." Roy sighed and tapped his foot. The door opened and Ed walked out sleepily. "Great. Let's get you back to bed."

He pulled the covers up on him and tucked him in. "You good?" Ed nodded. "Good. Now I'm going to try to get back to sleep," Roy yawned.

Great. Just great. Now he couldn't sleep. He groaned and stared blindly at the ceiling. _Ugh..._

"Dad..?" he heard softly from the other end of the room. "Huhn? Ed..? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" "I can't sleep.." Roy sighed. He felt something warm sit down next to him. "Can I stay with you?" "Sure, why not," Roy groaned, and shifted, making room for Ed.

_Fwump._ A few minutes later, Ed fell over on his side, asleep. "Ugggggggg... I'm glad you can sleep, ya little twip." He smirked slightly and closed his eyes, trying to find sleep.

_Ugh.. What time is it? _Roy sat up after having dozed off. He turned on the lamp for a moment to check the time. 4:00 _Ugh.. _There was no way he was getting back to sleep. He turned the lamp back off, and got up, being careful not to disturb the sleeping boy, which was easier said than done, because he had nuzzled into Roy in the middle of the night. He opened the kitchen door and went in. Should be start making himself breakfast now, or not..?

A small thump at the kitchen door alerted him, and he turned around. A sleepy Edward, still in his clothes from the previous day, which he had slept in, stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. "Ed? What are you doing up?" He shrugged sleepily. "I jus' woke up.." Roy sighed and glanced up at the clock. "Okay.. Do you want some breakfast now?" Ed shrugged again. "I guess I will if you want some, too.. " Ed yawned. Roy blinked. That was phrased so badly...

"Okay, I'll make us some. Do you want to get the plates out?" "Uh.. Where are them?" "They," Roy corrected, " and they're up. . Oh." Roy mentally kicked himself. "They're up here," Roy said, pulling two plates out of a high up cupboard. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have asked you that, you're clearly too short.." Ed frowned at this, and folded his arms around himself defensively. "Hey, don't give me that look!" " 'm not short.. " Ed grumbled. Roy chuckled. "Actually, you kind of are, Pisqueak." Ed frowned and turned away.

Roy cracked an egg into the pan, causing Ed to jump as it sizzled and crackled loudly. "Scared?" Ed pouted. "Noo.." "Okay, wanna get me some forks out? One for you, and one for me. They're over there on the counter, in that cup." Ed walked to the counter and stood on his toes to reach for the cup. "Ugn. .." He reached out his arm and... was just short of reaching it. Roy watched this out of the corner of his eye. He walked over and grabbed it for Ed who was clearly incapable of reaching it himself. Ed folded his arms. "I'm not short..." Roy laughed. "No one said you were.."

"Gah!" Roy exclaimed exasperatedly as he went back to the eggs. "'ts the matter?" Ed asked. "...I burned them..." Roy mumbled. Ed frowned. "Yuck.." "Hey! I wouldn't have burned them if you hadn't been too _short _to reach the forks yourself!" "I'm not short!"

Ed poked his egg with a fork. "Eat," Roy commanded. " ...it looks like an eye, and it's staring at me.. " "E- What?!" Roy sighed and slapped himself in the face. "Eat it. I ate mine." Edward shook his head. Clearly he wasn't planning on listening to Roy. "Fine. If you aren't going to eat it, at least drink your milk." Ed looked horrified. "No way!" "Ed.." Ed frowned and looked thoughtful. "If I eat the eye, can I not drink the milk?" Roy chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Fine. But y'know, if you don't drink your milk, you'll be short forever. Ed grimaced at him, but are the egg. Roy handed him a glass of water. "Drink this. I'm not gonna have you get dehydrated because you don't want to drink your milk." He took it and gulped it down.

"Great," Roy said, looking at the clock. 4:30 "We should go to the store. Could you wait on the couch until I'm done taking a shower?" Ed nodded. "Great."

Boring... This was sooo boring... Roy was stiilll taking a shower. There was a book sitting on the table in front of the couch. Ed leaned forward and picked it up. "A..al..che..my... Ba...bas..ics.." He flipped it open to a random page. "Wow!" he said, tracing an alchemy circle with his finger. "Cool picture.."

Roy walked out of the restroom and into the living room to see a still disheveled -looking Edward flipping quietly through one of his alchemy books. "Whatcha got?" Roy questioned. "Uh.." Edward looked up, surprised that Roy was there. He had been so wrapped up in reading that he hadn't noticed. "A book..." Ed mumbled. "Do you understand anything that it's saying?" "Um.." Ed looked thoughtful for a minute, " maybe?" "What's it about?" Roy asked. "Um.. Al..alchemy..?" " Okay. What kind of stuff does it say? " Roy asked, genuinely interested in whether Ed was actually absorbing information from it. "Um.. There's a thing called 'quivelant exchange, an' it.. Um.. means you have to .. trade stuff equal an' get rid of something... And you can do really cool stuff with a..al..alchemy!" " Wow, " Roy said, "really?" " Uh-huh! An' you draw a picture with a circle thing an' ..- Bwoosh! You get something!" "Ohh.." Roy said. "Ready to go to the store?" " Uh.. I 'i'n't brush my teeth.. " "Oh. I think I might have a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. Hang on a second.." He went to the restroom. It was suprising how well Ed had understood alchemy at the age of 4. "Yeah! Here's a toothbrush!" Ed ran into the bathroom and snatched it from Roy, about to shove it in his mouth. "Wait a second. You don't have any toothpaste." " Oh... " He thrust it in Roy's face. "You can put it on, right?!" Roy sighed and took it from him, shaking his head slightly as he smeared toothpaste on it. Ed snatched it from Roy and went to shove it in his mouth. "Wait a second! You didn't wet it!" "Oh.." Ed said, and shoved it under the sink's faucet. He pulled the toothbrush back and shoved it in his mouth, scraping it back and forth across his teeth, while making goofy faces at Roy, who in turn poked him in the forehead. "Just brush your teeth.."

"Are you... Um...I .." Edward sighed and looked at the ground, hand in Roy's as they walked to the car. "What?" "Are you.. mad at me, Dad?" Roy stopped and looked at him. "Mad? No! Why would I be mad?" " Cuz.. I woke you up and didn't drink my milk. And I read your book without permission." Roy knelt in front of him. "You didn't mean to wake me up, and you drank some water, and I don't have a problem with you reading. I'm not mad at you, kiddo." Roy ruffled his hair. Ed smiled. "Okay."

Roy stopped dead in his tracks. "Gah!" he screamed. "What's the matter?!" Ed squealed. "My car.." He slapped himself in the forehead. "Looks like we're walking..." Ed reached up and grabbed Roy's right hand tightly in his left, squeezing hard.

"We're here," Roy said. Ed yawned exaggeratedly. "Okay, we need to get you some clothes and a toothbrush while we're here." "M'kay." "Is there a color you'd like for clothes?" "Um... Red!" Ed exclaimed. _Of course... _"Anything else?" Ed looked around for a moment, then shrugged. Roy sighed. "Okay.. Let's go look.."

"Okay. We have a red shirt.." Roy held up a red t-shirt , " and a blue shirt." He held up a pale blue shirt. "Which one?" "Red!" Roy frowned in mock disappointment. " Aw... But I thought the _blue _one looked better.. " Ed frowned. "Yeah, but you asked which one _I _wanted." Roy paused. He had a point... "How 'bout both?" Ed sighed, _clearly _above this sort of thing. "Ohhhhkaaayyyyy.. I _guess.._ " Roy snorted. "Great. Now you need pants. Black, brown, or blue?" Ed shrugged. "C'mon.." "Black.." Roy grabbed it and dropped it in the cart. "Great, now you can look like a flaming bumblebee... "

"...Ed..?" Roy turned around. The checkout line was strangely long for this time of day, and was taking far too long. Roy looked around. Where was Ed..? Panic rose in his chest, but was quickly quashed when he spotted Ed standing a little ways off, staring at stuffed animals. _What the-? _He had earlier declared that he was too old for a Spongebob toothbrush, but now his attention was captured by plush toys. "Ed," Roy hissed, trying to get his attention. Ed's head snapped around to look at Roy. "Get over here." Ed paused momentarily and glanced at the stuffed things. "Grab one and get over here! " Roy said. Ed looked shocked for a moment, before grinning and grabbing a teddy bear.

"Hello, find everything okay?" The store clerk said. Roy nodded. "Yes, Ms..." He glanced at her nametag. "Ms. Pipi." She smiled. "Is that your son?" Ed grinned at her as Roy nodded. "He's cute," she said, smiling down at him. "Have a good day!" she called as they left.


	6. Chappy 6!

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA ... or Spongebob, for that matter...**

**Chappy 6!**

_Hff.. Hff.. _Roy walked up outside Central with a child on his back and some have in his hand. "Ugh.. You weigh a lot, y'know that?" "Mm.." Ed hmmed absently. "You okay?" Roy asked. "Yeah.." Ed mumbled. "Ok.." Roy sat Edward on the ground next to him. Ed clung to Roy's arm tightly, causing him to wonder if something was wrong. "C'mon.."

"G'mornin', Miss Riza, " Ed said. "Hello, Edward. How are you this morning?" she asked, smiling. "Fine thanks!" "Good. I'm glad to hear it." "Yeah... He woke me up last night," Roy grumbled. Riza stifled a small giggle, and Roy frowned.

Roy dropped his shopping bags by his desk and sighed exaggeratedly as he dropped into his chair. "Dad? Can I help with the paperwork?" Ed asked. "Uh.. No, sorry. It's just not something you can do. Ed flopped on the couch, and hung off backwards. "Everything looks weird upside-down.." Ed mumbled. "Please don't do that.." Roy said. "Edward?" Riza asked. "Hm?" he said, sitting up. "Did you sleep in those clothes last night?" "Uh... Yeah." She sighed. "Oh.. Whoops.." Roy muttered, fishing out some clothes for Edward from the shopping bags. "Ed, to put these on in a bathroom." " Uh.. Where's...?" "Come with me," Riza sighed.

"Are you done yet?" Riza asked. "Hang on a sec'nd..!" Ed shouted. "Okay.." she called back, and leaned against the wall. "Okay!" Ed said, exiting the restroom with new clothes on. "Your hair's a mess," she sighed, but still took him back to Roy.

"His hair's a mess," Roy noted. He fished in one of his cluttered desk drawers and pulled out a pocket comb. "I hate to bug, but could you help him with his hair please, Riza?" "Yes, sir," she said.

"Hold still so I can comb it.." she grumbled, but not unkindly. "I am.." She stepped back a bit. "There you go! All nice and neat. Come on, let's go back to your dad."

"Lookin' good, " Roy said, smiling at his son. Ed sighed and flopped melodramatically on the couch. "I'm boorrrrredddddddd..." he whined, and leaned backwards off the couch, promptly ruining his hair. "Ah..! Ed, you didn't have to go and mess it up.." Roy shook his head and looked back down at his papers.

"Hiya, Roy!" Hughes exclaimed. "Hughes! How's it goin'?" "Great! How are you, Ed?" he asked, directing his attention to the pint-sized protagonist. "Fine!" "He's soooo cute!" Hughes exclaimed, ruffling Ed's hair, ruining what little bit of neatness remained. "Say, Hughes, is there a chance you could help me luck up my car vat lunch break? I left it somewhere .." "Sure! Is Ed coming, too? " "No.. I don't have a car seat for him.." "Oh! " Hughes exclaimed. "My little Elysia just outgrew hers. I think it'll fit him. Want it?" " Really? That'd be great!" Hughes nodded.

"Boooorrrrreddd..." Ed groaned. " You can hang out with me," Hughes said. "Okay!" Ed shouted, jumping up and immediately falling off of the couch. "Ow..." " Are you okay? " Roy asked. "Yeah," Ed saud, getting to his feet. Roy sighed and shook his head, and Hughes gave him a quick smile. "Whatcha wanna do?!" Ed shouted, jumping up and down. "Um..." Hughes looked around, then turned to Roy for suggestions. Roy shrugged, a familiar smirk on his face. _I'm not the one who volunteered.. _Hughes smiled. _Thanks for being soo helpful, Roy. _Roy snorted. _Yep._

Ed's fist wrapped around Hughes' pant leg. "Let's go!" _Help me, Roy! ! _Roy glanced at his papers, disinterestedly. _Nope!_

**I'm really sorry about not getting more of this done, it took me hours to type this one short chapter. I really am trying, though the typing is hard for me.**

**Sorry, when I posted the last chapter, I was sick and just posted really fast. **

**Also, I forgot a disclaimer at the beginning... But now there's one here! So...**

**Ugh... A friend recommended that I watch Ouran High School Host Club. It's just.. Really weird, and I have no idea why she's so obsessed with it... Tamaki is super bizarre, but probably the best. To be honest, I have no idea why I'm bringing this up...**

**If anyone is interested in entering my Parental!RoyEd story contest, PLEASE let me know! I think there were more details about it in my one - shot "Ask" , which by the way, if you're bored, and waiting for more of this, then go check that out and drop a review on it.**

**Speaking of which... REVIEW! I forgot to say it last time, but PLEASE do it! I'm aiming for 100 reviews! Please, guys.! (And girls, I guess, if you want to argue about the word I used...)**

**Thanks! **

**Byee!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chappy 7! (I think...)

"...and then, if you just told here-" "It's a frog!" Ed shouted, staring intently at Hughes as he folded an origami frog. He eagerly snatched it as Hughes offered it to him. "Do you wanna do one?" Hughes asked. "Okay!"

"Dad!" Ed screamed, running into Roy's office with his hands in the air. "Look! I made you a bird!" Roy looked up. "Cool! Can I see it?" "Uh-huh!" Ed nodded, thrusting his fist forward to hand him the crumpled piece of paper that once resembled a bird. "Wow.." Roy said, wiggling the piece of paper out of his tight grasp and smoothing it slightly, restoring it to the glory it once had. "This is nice. Did Mr Hughes show you how to do this?" "Uh-huh!" Ed nodded. "An' he made a frog, and when you pushed on its back, it really jumped!" Ed continued, jumping when he got to this part as if he himself were the frog. "Ohh.. Ok. Hey, did you know I know how to do origami, too?" Roy asked, and proceeded to start folding a piece of paper from his desk. And then Hawkeye walked in. "Roy, I don't recall that being the way to do paperwork." Roy blushed and looked down, realizing that he had been folding a piece of paper that he should have been filling out. "Whoops.."

"Hey, Ed, you hungry?" Ed looked up from a paper that he had been creasing, to see Roy looking down at him. " ..huh?" Ed mumbled, staring blankly at Roy. "Are you hungry?" Ed blinked, then looked down. "Uh... Maybe..?" "Do you want to eat some lunch?" "Uh.. I guess so.." Roy knelt down and ruffled his hair. "I've gotta go get the car with Mr. Hughes." Ed looked down with a slight twinge of disappointment in his chest. "Do you think you could eat lunch with Miss Riza?" "..guess so.." he mumbled. "Okay. I'm sorry. Be good, okay?" Ed nodded.

Edward slid the mashed potatoes around on his plate with his fork, entirely disinterested. "Edward? Is everything alright?" " Yeah.. " he mumbled, and layed his head down on the table. Riza set her hand down on his head and gently stroked his hair. "What's the matter?" " Nothin'... But.. Dad had to go do something, so I guess he left me with you." "He still likes you."

"Roy," Riza said, approaching him as he walked into the building. "Huh? What? Is something wrong?" " No... But Ed was really upset that you weren't here. Maybe you could say something to him..?" Roy nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Riza."

"Ed?" Roy said, crouching down in front of the boy. He was sitting, surrounded by partially done origami, his leaning sleepily against the side of the couch as he stared off into space. "Ed," Roy said, waving a hand in front of his face. "Huh?" he said, blinking and looking around. "Dad?" he mumbled. Roy nodded and patted his head. "Yeah. I'm back. Sorry I couldn't have lunch with you." " 'ts okay... " Ed muttered, rubbing one eye. "Are you tired, kiddo?" Ed shrugged and rubbed both eyes. Roy scooped him up and layed him on the couch, pulling off his jacket and laying it over him. "Have a good rest," Roy said, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Nn.." Ed nuzzled into the jacket and dozed off.

"...Ed. Ed?" He lazily opened his eyes. " Huh..? " Roy was staring at him. "Time to go home. You slept a lot.." Ed got to his feet and handed Roy his jacket while yawning. Roy picked up the shopping bags off of the floor. "C'mon," he said, and Ed sleepily followed behind him.

Roy fastened the seatbelt around Ed, who looked surprised by the concept of going home in a car. "You okay?" Roy asked. "Mmhmm..." "Okay," Roy said. Rain ran down the windows of the car. Ed stared out, absently wondering where his old father was. "Is there something you want for dinner?" " Mm... No.. " he mumbled. Roy sighed quietly. "Okay."

Roy opened the side door of the car. Edward was staring distantly out the window. Roy leaned in and grabbed him by the ankles, swinging him upside down. Ed screamed. "Ah-What-?! Put me down! Dad!" he squealed, completely unprepared. Roy smirked slightly. "Dad!" he screamed , wildly grasping for something to hang on to. "Ed, just-" "Dad! Please put me down!" he shrieked, bursting into tears. "Ed!..." He picked him up, right side up, and hugged the wildly sobbing child, rubbing his back in an effort to console him. "Shhh... Ed, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.. Sh..." Quiet sobs continuously slipped from him as he clung to Roy for dear life. "Shh.." Roy picked up the shopping bags in his other hand and walked to the house. He mentally punched himself. That was such a bad move... "I'm sorry..."

Roy watched as Ed sleepily shoved spoonfuls of soup into his mouth. "Are you okay?" Roy asked. Ed nodded. "Sorry..." he mumbled. "Ed, why are you sorry?" Roy asked. Ed shrugged. "You didn't do anything wrong..."

Ed sat in Roy's lap as Roy gently rubbed his back. In Ed's hands was the alchemy book that he had looked at earlier. Ed's head was leaning more and more against Roy as his eyes slipped shut, and Roy felt himself nodding off as well.

**Oookay... Sorry for not getting to this earlier. Yes, I know, I'm a terrible person to do this to y'all...**

**I'm sorry, but typing is a PAIN... **

**Sorry..**

**I feel so sorry for Ed.. :3..**


	8. Chapter 8 : I'm sorry, Ed!

**Ed: "Thanks for all the r'views!" XD**

Ed opened his eyes sleepily to see that a light was still on, and he had been laying, asleep, on Roy, who also was asleep.

Memories took no time in resurfacing, causing soft sobs to slip from the small boy's mouth. He snuggled harder against the sleeping man, who completely didn't notice. Tears spilled down his cheeks, and he trembled slightly as whimpers and quiet sobs echoed quietly from him. He brought his knees up to his chest and folded his arms around them, rocking slightly, back and forth.

Stop... He just wanted it all to stop...

He clamped his eyes shut as the tears flowed freely down his face.

"Daddy.." he whimpered, nuzzling closer to Roy.

He cried, knowing that his tears would go unnoticed again.

Or so he thought.

"Nn.." Roy stirred. "Ed..?.." The whimpering boy leaned close and tightly grabbed Roy. "Ed? Hey, what's the matter?"

Roy pushed him back slightly to look him over, guaranteeing that he was unharmed. He pulled him closer and held him tightly. "Shh... Ed, what's the matter? Did you have a nightmare?" Ed shook his head and cried louder, squeezing harder. "Ed..." He rubbed his back and rocked him back and forth in his lap. " Shh... Shh... " "I'm so sorry.." " Son, what are you sorry for? " "Ah..I sorry..." he mumbled, clearly exhausted. "Shhhh... Kiddo, you didn't do anything wrong." "Waah..!" he wailed. "Ed..!" He pulled him closer. "Shh... It's okay... Please, kiddo.. It's okay. Calm down... Shh... " he continued rocking him. "Aughn..." Ed whimpered, slowly drifting off. It hurt to see Ed like that. Roy patted his head as he fussed quietly in his sleep. Poor kid...

**Meh... This is short. Sorry.**

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	9. Chapter 9:

**Hi guys... Don't kill me for taking so long. I'm really sorry, I just... I've been really busy, and I hope you can understand. Thanks for all of the reviews I've gotten so far, as well as the follows and favs. I hope you can understand. **

**On another note... ITS MY BIRTHDAYYYY!**

**Now, on with the chapter! XD**

After last night, Roy wondered if he should maybe let Ed sleep a little longer. He gently ruffled the sleeping boy's hair. Had ha had a nightmare..? It seemed a little bit strange for a nightmare to make him wake up, sobbing that he was sorry. What kind of crappy life had he had before that was causing this? Was the life he had now actually any better?

Was Roy actually capable of giving him a better life than his real parents had? No... Roy was his real father. And Roy was better than his previous excuse for one, because he wasn't committing suicide to leave his young child all alone in the world.

"Nn.. Da.." Ed mumbled in his sleep. Maybe sleeping in a real bed would allow him to rest better. He wished he could make it easier for Ed to explain what was wrong with words, but he couldn't think how..

He picked Ed up and carried him to his own room where he played him in his bed. He would need to get Ed his own bed soon, but...

He was a horrible parent..

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Soft footsteps padded into the kitchen doorway an hour later when Roy was making breakfast. He turned. "Ed! Good morning!" "Mornin'.." Ed mumbled. "Did you get enough sleep?" Roy asked. Ed shrugged and averted his gaze. Roy sighed. "You slept in your daytime clothes again..." "Sorry.." Ed mumbled. "No," Roy said. "Huh?" Ed looked up at him. "Stop being sorry. You didn't do anything wrong." Ed stared at him silently, tears forming in his eyes, and his mouth open in shock. "Do you think you can reach the forks?" Ed hesitated for a moment, before he turned around and saw the cup of forks near the edge of the counter. He grabbed two forks and put them on the table. "Good job," Roy smiled. "Here's your breakfast." Ed reached up and accepted the scrambled eggs. He took it to the table, where Roy met him with a glass of milk.

Ed frowned. A silent battle ensued as they locked eyes: Roy daring Ed to not drink his milk, and Ed daring Roy to make him drink it. There was a faint glint of something in Ed's eyes that Roy hadn't seen before that point. The fire in his eyes...

Roy shook his head and sighed. "Make sure to drink your milk."

Ed made an irritated sound and brought the cup up to his mouth, nursing his milk slowly with an angry glare.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Are you about done with that milk?" Roy sighed half an hour later.

Ed quickly shrugged and Roy sighed.

"Lemme see," he said, leaning over the top of Ed's glass to look inside.

"You barely drank any at all..."

Ed jerked back at something in Roy's voice and the cup slipped from his hands, dumping the nearly full glass of milk on his lap and the floor.

Tears welled up in his eyes and be started to sniffle. "I'm sorry .." he whimpered.

Roy reached an arm out and Ed screamed a bloodcurdling scream, blocking his head with his arms.

"Ed- What is the matter with you ?" he asked, wrapping an arm around the blond to lift him out of the puddle. Ed dissolved into sobs and clung to the arms that were holding him.

"C'mon ..." Roy mumbled, carrying him to the other room to change him out of his wet clothes.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Shhhh..." Roy gently rocked Ed back and forth, wondering why he'd been crying for the past half hour. "Ed, it's ok. No one's mad at you..." Ed whined pathetically and wrapped his arms around Roy's waist. "Shhh... it's ok.."

Why was he so broken..?

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**Pleeeaaassseee?**


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